One of the really cool things about photography is you can record something unusual that can never be seen the same again. I've lived in Birmingham, Alabama several times in my life. There use to be a skyscraper building that had about a 17 foot tall replica of the Statue Of Liberty 3/4 of the way up. One day I managed to get behind it and took this picture. Not what you would expect as background is it. Today you can't take this shot. I'm not sure if the building has been torn down but the statue was moved to a park somewhere in the city. The photo was taken during the 1970's. (OMG that’s 40 years ago).
What has always pleased me about this picture is not the accuracy of the reproduction of the Statue, but the background. Yes, it's junky and basically uninteresting. But what it is, is not the Upper New York Bay. That causes curiosity ever time I show it.
I mention this because while I knew the unusual background would be cool, I never expected this view to go away. Living in a small town I got the chance to purchase a photo book of the towns history. While the town square is still pretty much the same (a fire destroyed city hall and they replaced it with a piece of crap) but there are small changes that reflect the era the picture was taken. I've often wondered what my grandchildren's children are going to think of the crappy architecture of the 60's and 70' -- the cinderblock to steel utility building that is so popular today. I hope they are not too hard on us for being so cheap and uncreative.
Look around at what you see in your town and capture it. It may seem common and uninteresting but in 75 years it will be "vintage" and it will be gone.
I'll have to look next time I'm downtown, but I think the building is still there. I know the statue is in Liberty Park off of I-459. They put it next to the interstate to advertise that Liberty National was in that new office park. As for the background of your pic I don't think anything but the church is still there.
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